Kentucky Lake River Level

TVA uses operating guides for each reservoir to make decisions about moving water through its dams. These guides are based on many decades of operating experience. They are built around the idea of allowing seasonal variations in the use of flood storage space.

Operating guides take into consideration all the features that influence a reservoir’s ability to store and release water—the size and shape of the surrounding watershed, the reservoir’s surface area, and the average rainfall and runoff—as well as historical demands for water use and flood storage space at different times of the year.

Kentucky Dam is 22 miles upstream from the confluence of the Tennessee River with the Ohio. The dam is the longest in the TVA system, and the reservoir, which stretches for 184 miles across the states of Kentucky and Tennessee, is the largest in the eastern U.S.

Kentucky Reservoir is home to many varieties of fish, including largemouth and smallmouth bass, catfish, bluegill, sauger, and crappie. Numerous boat docks and launching ramps dot the coves of Kentucky’s shoreline.

Fishin Tool Bag can be found on most days on the Kentucky Lake putting it though its paces.

Carl Perkins Bass Classic

The water on the Tennessee River will be busy on Friday, October 9th & Saturday, October 10th. This will be when the Carl Perkins Bass Classic has more anglers on the water than bass fish can handle. The Carl Perkins Bass Classic will be hosted from Perryville Marina at mile marker 135 on Tennessee river. Since this is the lower end of the Kentucky Lake, most fisherman will be locking through to Pickwick Lake. This Average Fisherman will be heading back north to my normal spot.

Keys to winning are:

• Make sure your fish stay alive, if you are going through a lock or traveling long distances flush your live wells to keep fresh water for the fish.
• Ice your live well if you are done fishing and waiting to head to the tournament weigh in.
  
• Watch for Shad movement, food always brings the larger fish.
• Fish Ledges and shallow water early in the morning.

And of course always fish with your Fishin Tool Bag in your boat.

Kentucky Lake

As an Average Fisherman, I fish on large river systems The river that I can be found on most, is the Tennessee River, although it is also known as Kentucky Lake. As with most rivers the water depth fluctuates depending on rain fall, power generation, and the seasons. Since we are moving into the early fall, the water depth on the Kentucky Lake has been on the fall for about the last month. With the water depth dropping this moves fish into areas that they would normally not suspend in. Just like when the water level is high, the fish will be in a part of the lake that they would never be found. So this got me thinking about how I fish.

So this past weekend I was out fishing in an area that I normally fish, but with the water depth being down. I decided to try some areas that I would normally never fish. Because of the water depth, I tried some of normally tactics and sure enough, there were fish there. So the next time you are out on the water and the fishing is slow, take the same tactics and move into a new area. I bet you will find some fish.